Old Freak Street, commonly known as
Freak Street is tucked away at the edge of Kathmandu's
shopping and historical center of New Road and Basantapur
Durbar Square. This is the almost mythical magnet for
hippies and other social deviants of the 1960s. This was the
original center of the city for outsiders to the Nepalese
culture, and it gained a reputation as being a place to find
enlightenment. Many trekkers and spiritual explorers
gathered there to find exotic encounters and try alternative
lifestyles.

North - 1960's
North - 1979's

As by the sands of time, as inevitable
is Change, we may also call it transformation, and the need
of change in the perception of the place Freak Street was
greatly felt and it is been proposed that the name Freak
Street be converted into Old Freak Street, just for a
change.

In general, the term ĎFreakí could mean
nothing but just an abnormality, and usually constitutes
attribution of insanity and itís social impact is always
found to be negative.

East Of Old Freak Street

This ancient street which was named as
Freak Street, after the hippiesí and as many revellers'
outrageous influx to the place almost four and half decade
ago, is now being renamed as Old Freak Street, since the
place is not anymore like it used to be back then and on the
other side, over the decades of time the place has lost its
originality and authenticity and is still developing in
tortoise pace despite of many ups and downs, sociopolitical
boundaries and hindrances. And, hopefully, this will also
convey to our younger generations to be cautious that they
are not licensed to just freak-out because it is Freak
Street, giving them the positive message. Being the very old
town of the Kathmandu valley, this particular street is also
known as Jhochhen (the houses in a single row) in Newari as
itís traditional name.

Today,
some active groups of local youth, ( Jhochhen Community
Development Committee, Lakasa Mhalashala Pucha, Green Square
Tourism Council) and some like-minded individuals have
initiated and taken up the responsibility to preserve the
place and make it a better place for all, a comfort Zone
specifically for the Tourists.

Old Freak Street
humbly welcomes all the people from different walks of life
and people from all the nooks and corners of the World.
Letís hope this street will measure and reach a NEW
dimension of success keeping up with the legacy when the OLD
is prefixed to its new name.